Municipal Elections Act case against mayor of Haldimand adjourned
Next date set for June 18 at Munsee Street court
A court case over whether Haldimand Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley violated the Municipal Elections Act was adjourned.
She will have to wait to learn the outcome of the charges that could end her first term in office.
The mayor did not attend a first hearing in her case Tuesday at the Cayuga courthouse, but her lawyer, T. David Marshall, requested an eight-week adjournment, which was granted by justice of the peace Brett Kelly.
The next date is set for June 18 at 1:30 p.m. at the Munsee Street courthouse.
The four charges against Bentley stem from an election compliance audit committee investigation that determined she broke spending rules and accepted thousands in ineligible cash donations during her successful 2022 campaign.
The audit into Bentley’s campaign was ordered last year following a complaint by Haldimand resident Lisa Richardson.
Charges include an allegation Bentley filed an incorrect financial statement that failed to record all contributions and misstated her campaign contributions. Another charge alleges Bentley committed an offence by accepting cash contributions to her campaign exceeding $25, contrary to the Municipal Elections Act. The third charge asserts Bentley failed to ensure that all campaign contributions were deposited into her official campaign bank account. The final count alleges Bentley failed to ensure that all campaign expenses were paid out of her official campaign bank account.
The offences are alleged to have taken place between May 1, 2022 and April 30, 2023.
Through her lawyer, Bentley previously stated she ran “an entirely grassroots, spendthrift campaign,” but made errors in managing and reporting campaign finances due to her inexperience as a political candidate.
Bentley posted a narrow win in the 2022 Haldimand mayoral race, with 4,760 votes, edging second-place finisher Jake Vandendool by 166 votes. Incumbent Mayor Ken Hewitt received 3,700 votes.
If she’s convicted on the charges, Bentley could be removed from office and banned from running in the next municipal election.
In the meantime, she continues on as mayor.